


You Can't Be Everything You Want To Be Before Your Time

by tardisandtea



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: 13 Going on 30 AU, F/M, fs romcom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-14 03:07:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7996318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tardisandtea/pseuds/tardisandtea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jemma Simmons has a wish-- to be appreciated for her intelligence, but being a preteen in senior year she has only been ridiculed. On her thirteenth birthday, she gets her wish and wakes up 15 years later as a successful biochemist in the top laboratory in the country. She has everything she's ever wanted, but is being older all that it's cracked up to be?</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Can't Be Everything You Want To Be Before Your Time

September 11th, 1999

 

Jemma stifled a yawn.

 

She hadn't been able to settle down the night before. Not because she would be another year older in the morning but because she had a presentation in her last period physics class.

 

She sank down into her chair (front row, center--her preferred spot in any classroom) and started emptying the contents of her rucksack onto her desk one at a time. She had flipped to a fresh page in her notebook, neatly writing the date on the top right-hand corner, when a buzzing sounded above her right ear. Upon looking up she saw a drone hovering above her head.

 

"Fitz," Jemma ducked out of the way of the flying object. "What is that?"

 

"That there's Sleepy." Fitz, who was a row away, said. He pushed a button on the tablet he was holding and the drone sailed down into his outstretched hand. He placed the tablet onto his desk and dropped into the chair next to Jemma. "This little guy, he's one of eight." Fitz continued, letting his shoulder bag fall beside the chair as he inspected the drone in his hand. "The listener of the bunch. Records things.” Fitz pressed a few buttons on his tablet. “I recorded a little something--for uh, for you. It's--well, I’ll just play it.”

 

Jemma's eyes flickered up from the tablet to look at Fitz. It was only a brief second before a static hum came through the small speaker on the drone, then Fitz's voice rose above the fuzziness and her attention was drawn back away.

 

"Hiya Jemma! Happy birthday, uh yeah, I know I wished you this morning, twice." There was some nervous laughter before the message continued. But I guess I wanted to say you're--" The message cut off, replaced with more of the fuzzy static. "Come on Sleepy not now-- you darn DWARF." Jemma managed to make out before the reception ended altogether.

 

"Er," Fitz rubbed the back of his neck. "Still working out a few kinks."

 

"That was brilliant, Fitz, thank you!"

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Yeah." She reached across her desk for Fitz's hand, rotating it so she could admire the invention more closely. "The craftsmanship is truly remarkable." She caught his eye and a smile spread across her face.

 

She hadn't grown up with many friends. She used to hang out with a couple classmates back at primary school, but that was only at breaks or lunch, never during after school hours. It never really bummed her out, though, she was too busy with coursework above her year to really pay much mind. Then her family were relocated to America for her father's work and she lost contact with her friends completely. Two years later she met Fitz, the young Scottish boy who was being hosted by her neighbours Phil Coulson and Melinda May for the senior school year.

 

After a summer of being attached at the hip by the time senior year rolled around the pair had become fast friends. As Jemma had concluded it would be improbable if they weren't as they were the only thirteen-year-olds attending SHIELD Academy the upcoming year and both happened to be British.

 

Fitz freed his hand from their twisted entanglement and leaned down to unzip his shoulder bag."I could bring the others to yours sometime, you'll love Snow--"

 

As Fitz continued on listing off each DWARF and their specific qualifications, Jemma's attention drifted to the group of girls entering the classroom just in time for the bell to ring. They were known across the Academy science community as the Science Six. Six geniuses who knew of their brilliance and showed it, their heads held high as they walked the school halls. There was a rumour that Ivy League science programs across the country were fighting for their acceptance for the following school year.

 

As the girls passed behind Fitz the leader of the group, Kara Palamas, caught her eye and winked. Jemma let out a sharp exhale of breath and turned away, only turning back to look when they had found their seats and were whispering amongst themselves.

 

Fitz had gotten his AP Physics textbook out of his bag and was reaching for Sleepy and his tablet when he noticed Jemma staring off behind him. He took a quick look over his shoulder but there was nothing to raise an eyebrow over.

 

"Daydreaming again, Jemma." Fitz stuffed his equipment into his bag and quickly started on the zipper.

 

Jemma snapped her head to Fitz. "Just thinking about my presentation is all."

 

"You'll do great."

 

There was a thump at the back of the room and Jemma, Fitz and the majority of their peers turned to see their teacher enter the room. He shuffled his briefcase to his other hand and shut the door behind him, giving his students a welcome smile as he passed through the rows of desks to the front of the room. Bruce Banner was one of the few teachers who treated both Jemma and Fitz as equals to their peers rather than looking down on them because of their ages and in the first week of classes alone became someone Jemma truly admired.

 

"How is everyone this Monday afternoon?" Mr. Banner said greeting the class once he got to his desk. There was a chorus of groans and he let out a chuckle. "Yeah, not my favourite day either." He popped open his briefcase, doing a quick roll call as he surveyed the room. "Alright," He balanced his pen behind an ear. "Does anyone want to start off our presentations?"

 

The class seemed to shrink back in their seats but Jemma's arm shot up so fast she nearly knocked her elbow into Fitz. Mr. Banner gestured her to the front with a smile. Picking up her trifold, she practically skipped to her spot.

 

She looked around. She smiled knowing that all the attention in the room was on her. She would finally get the recognition she very much yearned for. Her eyes settled on Fitz. He was flashing a thumbs up at her.

                               

                                                                                                           ~

 

"Now that was completely mortifying." Jemma countered with a groan, slowly repacking her rucksack. The rest of their classmates had left at the first sign of the bell and Mr. Banner had left soon after, leaving her and Fitz alone in the room.

 

"It couldn't have been that bad." Fitz had his bag balanced on his knees and was struggling to get Sleepy out without banging his elbows on his desk.

 

"Everyone was ignoring me, except for those ignorant remarks at the beginning, no one even cared that I was up there."

 

Fitz paused, hands still deep in his bag. "No." He shook his head and resumed his digging. "I don't think everyone was ignoring you." He tugged Sleepy out. Placing the drone on his desk he then grabbed for his textbook and crammed it in the freed up space.

 

"Right. Some were looking at me like I was some kind of parasite." She stood from her chair. "And not the good kind." She took her rucksack off her desk and guided each arm through the straps, holding them tightly in her hands as Fitz finished off with his own bag.

 

"I honestly don't understand," She continued once the two of them had left the room and were headed down the hall to their lockers. "It couldn't have been the presentation. I made sure the board was perfect. I used glitter. And there was nothing wrong with the oral component." She turned to look at Fitz. "It had to be me. What was it, Fitz? Was I talking too fast, not fast enough? Was I too quiet?" There was a scoff beside her.

 

"I smell, that has to be it, Fitz."

 

Fitz nearly stumbled over his feet, falling a few steps behind Jemma. His mouth parted as if he were going to add something but it fell closed. Disagreeing would be a moot point when she was in such a way anyway. He shook his head.

 

"I know body odour is the first sign of puberty which--" She looked down at her under-developed chest. "--would be a welcome change of events for sure."

 

They turned down the hall where their lockers were located and nearly bumped into Kara and the other five members of the Science Six.

 

"Oh, hiya Kara."

 

"Hey, Jemma," Kara replied. She gave Jemma a once over and then turned to acknowledge Fitz. "Hey there, pipsqueak." She reached across the short distance and ruffled his mop of curls.

 

Fitz veered to the side and Kara's hand dropped away as if she were the one uncomfortable with his touch. His lips were set in a straight line as he stared her down, running a hand through his hair, trying to tame the lion's mane of curls. Sensing his unease, and not wanting anything to happen to push Kara away, Jemma placed a hand on the side of his shoulder. He relaxed under her touch, his hand falling to lay on the nape of his neck.

 

"Uh, I'll wait for you by the bike rack, yeah?" His eyes flickered back to Kara.  

 

Jemma politely excused him, saying she wouldn't be more than a minute. Fitz ducked away from her. He stumbled under the weight of his bag and bumped into one of the girls. "Spaz!" The girl said loud enough for Jemma to hear but pretend she hadn't. She continued to watch Fitz until he disappeared out the double doors at the end of the hall.

 

"Could I have a teeny chat?" Jemma turned at the sound of Kara's voice. She had stepped away from the other girls and

 

"So, I was talking about your presentation with the girls." Kara started once the two of them were alone. Jemma must have appeared apprehensive because Kara reached an arm out forward, placing it on her wrist as reassurance. Despite the kind gesture, there was a hint of something Jemma couldn't distinguish behind Kara's brown eyes. "It's just a proposition of sorts." Kara clarified.

 

"You know how my step-father runs this internship program at HYDRA inc."

 

Jemma nodded. She did know. That was the company she had sent in application after application for but no one had bothered to even contact her if the applications had gone through.

 

"One girl was laid off the other day, she was let's say, 'unsuitable for the work environment' and now there's an open spot and I'll gladly put in a good word or two with my step-dad for you but--"

 

There it was, that three letter word standing in her way, like a barricade between her and the rest of her life. She looked down at her trainers hoping Kara would finish off quickly so she could go home and stuff her face full of cake and watch horribly inaccurate movies with Fitz.

 

"--he has quite a few application to process right now and you're a little little to be on his radar. But maybe I could make some sort of compromise. I could show him your notes on that assignment. Put you in his good books." She shrugged. "Does that interest you?"

 

"That sounds brilliant!" Jemma blinked up at Kara who was smiling down at her. A smile pulled at the corners of Jemma's own lips.

 

"Awesome. What time would work to pick up the notes?"

 

"I'm having a little party tonight. You and the girls could pop over anytime after seven if you wish." Jemma ripped off a corner of notebook paper and scribbled her address down with the pink gel pen that was sticking out of the coil. She handed it over to Kara. "If you're free of course."

 

Kara took the scrap piece between her fingers, peering down at the small cursive words. "Sweet! See you then.”

 

"See you!" Jemma watched as Kara retreated back down the hall, the other girls falling into place behind her.

 

The pressure that had been weighing her down since leaving class now felt alleviated. She stood straighter, her head held higher. She let out a squeal. The janitor in the classroom across from her looked out into the hall and she quickly apologized. She faced her locker, another squeal escaped, this time, hidden under her breath.

 

                                                                                                     ~

 

There were four blocks between the school and their houses. Four blocks which were usually filled with constant back and forth and talking over the other were exempt of that. After filling Fitz in on what he had missed, Jemma went into divulging her fantastical expectations. Fitz walked beside her, silently taking all this in.

 

"--have you noticed they're all mind-controlled zombies around her," Fitz spoke up, cutting Jemma off another hypothetical scenario.  

 

"Fitz, they're her friends. My friends." She corrected with a smile.

 

"They're not your friends."

 

"Someday, they will be. And you'll have to respect that, Fitz."

 

"You're more than someone's zombie-bot. Heck, you're smarter than all six of them combined. You don't need some internship, or uni's knocking on your door, to prove that. You just are" He shrugged. “Not that I don’t want you to get the internship."

 

"What if I don't want to be just smart?"

 

Fitz pivoted on his heels until he blocked Jemma's path. They had arrived at their neighbouring houses far sooner than she had expected they would've and she had to take a quick step back before she walked into him.

 

"Uh-- we're home."

 

"Right."

 

"So, your place at seven."

 

"You can come over at the usual time."

 

"Usual time it is." He did a quick nod, cutting behind her to walk up the lawn to Phil and Melinda's house. He turned to watch Jemma walk up the path to her own house before entering.

 

                                                                                            ~

 

Jemma was stretched out on her bed, textbook laying open in front of her and the capped end of her highlighter tapping against her chin. She wasn't reading as much as allowing her eyes to glaze over the words.

 

"Happy birthday, sweetheart. Wanted to give you a special something before--"Jemma's mum pushed open her door. Jemma hurriedly hid her textbook under her duvet. "What's that you got there?"

 

"It's nothing mum."

 

Her mother sat down on the edge of the bed, uncovering the lump. "A university textbook? "Your father and I started you in high school when you were barely ten, maybe that was a mistake on our part but we didn't want you to be held back.”

 

“You don't understand, I am being held back. I could have my first Ph.D. by the end of this year and be the next Nettie Stevens-- by eighteen.”

 

“You can be the next Nettie Stevens when you’re twenty-eight.”

 

“Why can't I be twenty-eight now?”

 

“Because right now you're my thirteen-year-old. Just have a little fun before life slips you by, alright.” She pressed a kiss to Jemma’s forehead. “You're father wouldn't mind a little help in the basement. I'll tidy up your things.”

 

The basement was a mess of party decorations and wires, her father sitting among them. “Mum said you'd like some help.” He patted the space beside him and Jemma made herself comfortable beside him, untangling streamers from a Happy Birthday Banner amid briefing him on her school day.

 

"I could help her with that Dr. Simmons," Jemma looked up to see Fitz stepping down off the steps, looking around the tall rectangular box he was carrying, grinning at her.

 

"Leo, you came early."

 

"I've asked him to come early dad."

 

"You two have fun then," He squeezed Fitz's shoulder as he passed by the boy to the stairs. "I've been ordered to my room for the evening by my daughter here." Jemma rolled her eyes.

 

"A karaoke machine, eh?"  Fitz knelt down across from Jemma, he placed the box down next to him and picked up a massive knot of cords.

 

"I used to play with it all the time when I was younger before it got in the way of my studies." She finished with the knot she was working at and folded her hands in her lap. "What've you got there in the box?"

 

Fitz pushed the cords away from him. "It's part two of your present." He said, grabbing for the present and shimmying the lid off. Underneath was a metal sculpture of spheres and connecting rods creating a molecular model that was a near replica of the Science and Technology award that graced the cover of her latest SciOps magazine subscription.

 

“You made this?” Jemma asked, picking it out of the box.

 

“Now go on, your acceptance speech."

 

"I don't have one."

 

"Don't be silly Jemma. You must've had one since you were ten." He smiled at her then rose to his knees. "I almost forgot," he said, taking a crumpled envelope out of his back pocket. He tried to smooth it a little before handing it over to her. "Your card."

 

It was a small square piece of paper with a picture of the two of them during their first week as friends pasted in the center. Above the photo were the words Happy Birthday in Fitz's rushed handwriting leaving barely enough room for her name.

 

"I know how much you like glitter so I used a lot." Jemma's thumb pressed into a large glob leaving a smudge of blue and sparkles on her skin. "It might still be a little wet."  

 

The card dropped to her lap as she wrapped her arms around Fitz's neck, pulling him in for a hug. The chimes of the doorbell sounded from upstairs and Jemma pulled away, frantically jumping to her feet. She picked up the card and award and put them on the side table near the snacks.

 

"Oh, Fitz they're here!" Her eyes scanned over the mess of the karaoke machine and other party bits and bobs scattered across the floor. "Could you finish off in here" She made it as far as the second step before shooting back over her shoulder, "And don't eat any of the snacks."

 

The girls had changed out of their school clothes into matching outfits and their hair which had been bound back into ponytails now fell down in waves around their faces. Jemma suddenly felt self-conscious of her fraying ponytail and wrinkled clothes.

 

"Come in, come in" She greeted her newest guests, allowing them to pass by her into the house. "Party's downstairs."

 

Fitz had finished off with the karaoke machine and the rest of the things were picked up off the floor. He was now off by shelves of movies reading the sides of the VHS tapes. When he heard Jemma's voice and the sound of footsteps come down the steps and around the corner he turned to look over his shoulder.

 

"Jemma, can we watch this instead of karaoke." He waved the case for The Little Mermaid around so she could see.

 

"Silly Fitz, cartoons are for children," Jemma said, reaching for the tape in Fitz's hand. She looked over her shoulder to roll her eyes at the group behind her.

 

"But it's your favourite."

 

Jemma whipped her head around to face the girls. Fitz pursed his lips together and nodded putting the case back on the shelf.

 

"The notes are in my room, I'll be right back. Help yourselves to the snacks and the karaoke machine if you wish." She let out a short exhalation, catching Fitz's eye before disappearing up the steps, two at a time.

 

"She's a little high-strung."

 

"More than a little, I'd say."

 

There was laughter and more comments, along those same lines, behind him and he turned from the movie shelf. The girls were huddled around the snack table picking through the bowls of crisps and other snack items at their leisure.

 

"She's not." Fitz felt himself say before he was consciously aware. The girls turned their gaze to him. **"** She's not high-strung. She's passionate and sure--"

 

"I think you should mind your own business there squirt."

 

"No. She's sticking her neck out for you girls and you repay her by calling her names. She deserves that position more than any of yous combined.”

 

Kara harrumphed. "We're the ones doing her the favour. And come to think of it--” She turned to the gaggle of girls behind her. “-- maybe she is too young to work with us after all.” They stalked towards the stairs. Fitz walked over to the snack table with a smile. He reached into the bowl, stuffing his face with a handful of crisps.

 

“Sorry I took so long, I had to use my father’s photocopier to print off another copy and it was--” Jemma rounded the corner of the staircase. Her hair was down, like the other girls had had it, but it kinked where the elastic band had held her hair in place. She looked around as if a group of six girls could be hidden somewhere. “What did you do?”

 

“Hey, don't put this on me. They were being immature buffoons and left.”

 

“No,” She said to the papers in her hands. She repeated the word with more force. There were tears threatening to fall from her eyes and she trained them on Fitz, boring all the emotions she had felt that day into a single look. “I think you were the one being immature.” She paused. “I want you to leave.”

 

The words hit Fitz like a meteor shower. “Jemma--” His throat felt like it was filled with sandpaper. "Let's think rationally about this, al-alright."

 

With her remaining pent up energy Jemma swept the side table clear. She crumpled down onto the floor. Next to her foot was the card that Fitz had made her, the glitter a little smudged and there was the imprint of her thumb on the side. The two of them looked so young, even though it was taken a few short months earlier. She wished she was older. Old enough to be respected by those she admired. Have a place among them to showcase her intelligence. With a shuddering breath, Jemma ripped the card straight down the middle and dropped either side away. She fell into herself, wrapping her arms around her knees, finally allowing her tears to overtake her small frame.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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